


No Good Deed...

by Donatellosgirl36



Series: Bound [17]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6044041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donatellosgirl36/pseuds/Donatellosgirl36
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A cry for help exposes the turtles and their family to a new threat. A deadly toxin threatens Mikey’s life and Donnie must find a cure before they lose their brother. Kaz finally realizes what it means to be a ninja, and the fine line between life and death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Kaz twirled the weighted end of his kusarigama and watched his opponent stand passively in front of him. Training with the adults was a lot different than training with Mira or Yoshi. They were stronger, larger, faster, and had more precise timing. He grew impatient as he waited for the attack. This uncle always seemed to stretch out the initial attack as long as possible. Maybe he knew it racked on the young turtle’s nerves because of who his father was. He knew the impatience and the tendency to be distracted easily was an inherited trait.

“Keep your head up.” Leo instructed from the sidelines. Beside him Mikey watched closely. His son had grown strong in the past few years and his skill was easy to see, but he still was no match for any of his brothers even the one he now sparred with.

Donatello took advantage of the slight distraction and slipped in for the attack. He swung his bo up aimed for Kaz’s head. At fourteen Kaz was now as tall as Mira and he had started to develop real muscle in the past year. He blocked the blow with the handle of his sickle.

“Your block needs to be higher, Kaz.” Leo continued.

Donnie twisted, attempting to sweep his leg. The younger turtle jumped back and threw his chain at the bo, trying to snatch it. But Donnie merely twirled his staff, knocking it away. Kaz narrowed his eyes and charged in.

“Don’t lose your patience.” Leo shook his head. Kaz was defiantly his father’s son. Their fighting styles were eerily similar.

Donnie smirked, expecting the rash behavior. He knocked the boy’s weapon away, wrapping the chain around his staff and catching the tip of the sickle’s blade in his bo. Flipping the staff around he caught Kaz’s foot and pinned him to the floor. “Better luck next time, Kazzey.”

Raph yawned beside Mikey. He’d went on patrol last night with K-three and Mira. “He’s gettin’ better. He lasted a lot longer than last time. Of course he wasn’t fightin’ me.”

Leo frowned. “Yeah, but he’s still got a long way to go.” He wondered if it had something to do with the mix of Neutrino and mutant turtle DNA. Had it caused him to lose some of the power their mutation had granted them with. He glanced down at Yoshi, who knelt beside him. The eleven-year-old was built like a small version of Raph. He already had rippling muscles and broad shoulders. And Leo suspected that he’d probably outgrow Kaz once he hit a growth spirt. So no, that couldn’t be it. Maybe he was just too distracted.

He sighed as he watched Donnie offer the boy a hand up and pat him on the head. The teen scowled at the action and Donnie chuckled. Maybe that was it. Maybe they’d babied him too much. Mira had picked up on everything so fast, that he’d had to remind himself to slow down with her. But Kaz had been different. Not necessarily slower, but less interested perhaps. Like he was doing this more for their benefit than his own. That was it. There was no passion behind the blows, no real desire to connect or cripple his opponent.

As the two approached them, Leo put a hand on his shoulder. “It was a good try. But I think we need to do some more one on one later.”

Kaz frowned. _More training!_ He was tired of training. It was all they seemed to do lately. He glanced at his father and saw the disappointment there for an instant. Mikey sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Let’s take a break first.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Mira trembled as K-three’s lips trailed along the curve of her neck. She gripped at his shoulders, her body quaking with need. His scent was driving her mad. He growled and she felt his arousal spike through their bond. And she realized she was probably doing the same thing to him. The door to store room opened and Cat glared at them. “Are you two going to help or make out all day?”

K-three straightened immediately, embarrassed to be caught like they were. Mira blushed. “We were just….”

The older woman smirked. “Don’t think I don’t know why you two come up here all the time.”

The Turtleoid cleared his throat. “No, we said we’d help. I just needed a part.” He reached over Mira’s head to pull down a box and his love smiled at him.

“And you got distracted.” Cat rolled her green eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing inventory, Mira?”

Mira pulled her small tablet from the shelf, where it had been abandoned when her betrothed had entered. “Uh, yeah, almost done.”

K-three smiled at the pink staining the petite turtle’s cheeks, before stepping away from her. But Cat blocked his exit. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh, yeah.” He pressed the button on his holo-band to activate it, masking his image into that of a human.

Cat shook her blonde head as he left and raised a brow at her niece. “You’re lucky you mother can’t sense you when he’s with you. Otherwise your father would have done put a stop to these little midday rendezvous.”

Mira smiled. “But you won’t tell them will you, Aunt Cat?”

Cat smirked. “Only because I know exactly how you feel. And I know it can get kind of crowded downstairs.”

Mira hugged her aunt. “I’m almost done. Then I’m going to head downstairs and help Mom with dinner.”

Cat smiled, hugging her just a little tighter. “You’ve grown up into such a beautiful smart young woman. Don’t let your libido get the better of you now. You only have two more hours.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

In the living room Kala helped Sarah rearrange the furniture. They moved the three large sofas around to where their backs were facing the TV and moved the coffee table forward towards the elevator. Kala retrieved some candles, setting them on the table. Sarah went to the kitchen to retrieve the tray with the three saké cups. She couldn’t help but tear-up as she looked on the meager arrangement. It felt like just yesterday, that she had held her daughter newly hatched in her arms. And now she no longer depended on her, but her soon to be mate and husband.

Donnie stepped from the dojo with the others. He gave her a small sad smile as he wrapped her in his arms and kissed away the tear drops on her cheek. She sighed resting her head on his plastron. “I have to keep reminding myself, that we’re not losing our daughter just gaining a son.”

“At least she’s not going halfway across the galaxy to Shellri-La.” Mikey pipped in.

“And she’s still your daughter, even if she is married.” Leo reminded her.

The elevator door opened and the object of their discussion stepped out. Mira smiled, shaking her head a little. “Now Mom, you can’t be doing that or you’ll make me cry. And then Kane will probably get upset.”

Raph stepped up next to her and she handed him her holo-band. “Speakin’ of which, I better go make sure they wrap up. Can’t have the groom late.” He smiled at her and placed a kiss on her head.

Shinta came out of the kitchen with a paper in his hand. He smiled up at Sarah, handing it to her. “I’m all done, Neenee.”

She took the paper and examined the writing. It was a list of his vocabulary words, the first written in her handwriting and the three copies after in his. She smiled and patted him on the head. “Good job.”

She handed it back to him and he immediately ran over to show it to his father. “See Daddy.”

Leo took the paper and smiled. “Yes, well done Shinta.”

The group chattered for a moment and then split off into their separate family units to prepare for the celebration that was to come. April arrived a little while later and it wasn’t long before dinner was made. Everyone cleaned up and settled around the large living room. K-three and Mira knelt before the coffee table with the three saké cups while Leo perform the ceremony, trying to remember the words his father had spoken so long ago at Donatello and Sarah’s wedding. At times he had to take cleansing breaths in order to continue. It was hard to imagine Mira as an adult, even though she sat less than a foot away from him beaming like the risen sun. The crisp white kimono he had bought for Sarah so long ago now decorated her own small body.

She wore the white Lilly clipped to a small band around her head and onto her finger was slid a new silver ring, a gift from Raph. She in turn slid another silver band onto K-three’s hand. Over the past three years the Turtleoid had learned a great deal about their culture. Leo couldn’t have chosen a better mate for his beloved niece. K-three had treated her with respect and behaved with honor. He had forged his own place in their family, contributing in every way possible. He was a good man and they knew he would take care of her.

Donnie watched the proceedings with a mixture of joy and sorrow. Their daughter had grown up. She was now the same age they had been when they’d first reunited. He glanced down at his mate, her head resting on his shoulder. Tears of happiness streaked her tan cheeks. He wrapped an arm around her, drawing her a little closer. It didn’t seem all that long ago, K-three had entered his lab and asked to marry his daughter. Don had hesitated only an instant, but it had been long enough to see fear flash in the young man’s eyes. That is when he’d finally resigned himself to the fact that K-three would rather die than be separated from her. And so, it had been the same that day, with a mix of joy and sadness he had given his permission. He’d respected K-three for honoring the old tradition and that respect had only grown over time as he’d seen how protective he was of Mira.

After the ceremony had ended, Mira slipped away to change back into her regular gear and returned with a small duffel bag. “Are you sure you don’t want us to take you up there?” Mikey handed over the keys to the van.

Mira shook her head as she took them. “No, I remember the way.”

“Just keep an eye out for the groundskeeper.” April reminded her while giving her a hug. “I told him to take the weekend off, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I will. And thanks for the use of the farmhouse.” Mira turned to her mother.

Sarah gave her a warm hug and kissed her cheek. “Be careful, sweetheart.”

Donnie shook K-three’s hand. “Take care of her, I’m counting on you.” They had come to an understanding long ago. And K-three had come to admire Donatello for his brilliance, generosity, and protectiveness.

K-three gave his hand a tight squeeze. “I promise.”

Mira stood on her tiptoes to place a warm kiss on her father’s cheek. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back in a few days.”

The rest said their goodbyes and soon the happy couple was being swept away up the elevator. Shinta watched Sarah wipe the tears on her cheek. He tugged at his father’s arm. “Why is Neenee sad?”

Leo picked him up with a small smile. “She’s not really sad. She’s just remembering when Mira was small like you.”

Shinta looked around the room and watched Kala with Kaz and Cat was Yoshi. “Because she’s her mommy?”

Leo continued to smile as he nodded. “Yes.”

Shinta frowned, looking around the room again. “Why don’t I have a mommy?”

Leo felt his throat close and his eyes sting. It might’ve been five years since the loss of his wife, but the pain was still very real. His chest burned with the ripping open of old wounds. He choked back the sob that wanted to escape him. “You do have a mother, Shinta. She loved you so much and she still does.” He carried his son into his room and picked up the photo of him and Amaya. He set Shinta in his lap as he sat on the bedside. “Your mother was so very beautiful and so very kind. She loved you with all her heart even though you two never met.”

“This is my mommy?” Shinta examined the old photograph, and the woman with long dark hair and pale skin. He’d seen the picture many times, but had never given it much thought.  “Where is she? Why isn’t she here?”

Leo couldn’t prevent the tears from filling his eyes. He swallowed hard before trying to speak. “Do you remember the grave we visit at the farmhouse with the bonsai tree?” Shinta nodded. “She’s there. She died before you even hatched.” The little turtle blinked up at him in confusion. Death, pain, and heartache were still foreign concepts to the small child. Leo sighed, hugging his son tightly. “It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that she loved you and that I love you.”

For a long time, they sat silently while he cradled his child against his plastron. Shinta continued to stare at the photo and at the woman that seemed so familiar and yet so foreign. He didn’t understand. Weren’t mommies supposed to stay with their children? He thought of the place his father talked about. What he remembered most about it was that it made his father sad. He looked up to see tears that had broken free trickle down his father’s chin. “I love you too, Daddy.”

Shinta turned to hug his neck and Leo felt the ache leave him just a little. “Would you like to stay in here tonight?”

Shinta leaned back to look at him. “Can I?”

Leo smiled just a bit. “Yes, I think that might be best for both of us.”

So that night, Leo did not sleep alone. His son’s soft breathing beside him helped to chase away the heartache. Perhaps that had been why he had let him sleep with him the first two years of his life. He had helped to keep the nightmares at bay. His presence filling the empty space that had once been filled with such tenderness and love. He looked around the dark room. There were still so many things here that reminded him of her. Some of which had even started to collect dust, because he still did not have the heart to move them. Her scent had faded from the room for the most part, but he could still find it when he needed it. It was locked away in the old wooden trunk that held her kimonos. And she still spoke to him from time to time, whispering her love into his heart. She had promise to always be with him in spirit and he knew she was.


	2. A Cry for Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so sorry a slight spoiler here. This chapter contains characters from Mirror, Mirror (fic #12). I know some of you have been wondering what's been happening with our alternate universe friends, so I hope you enjoy this little peek back into their world. A quick refresher on characters Rasputin is Donnie's counterpart, Napoleon - Leo, Genghis - Raph, and Attila - Mikey.

Leo stood and stretched as Shinta jumped out of the bed and ran out the door. It was hard to sleep late when you had a small child and Shinta was no exception to that rule. He was up early wanting some breakfast. Leo yawned as he walked into the living room. The lair was quiet, except for an odd hum that came from the lab. Apparently Donnie had convinced Sarah to sleep in. He smiled to himself, she deserved to sleep late every once in a while. Besides, he had a feeling everyone else would too this morning. He headed for the teapot to warm some water and then pulled out some cereal and milk for Shinta.

The boy had run to his and Yoshi’s room to find a toy to play with. He emerged with a car and sat down on the floor in the living room to roll it around. He pulled it back and it sprang across the cement floor and down the hall. Grinning, he ran after it. He stopped on his way back to look into the lab. There was woman standing in there. She didn’t frighten him. She seemed familiar somehow. Where had he seen her before?

“Who are you?” She asked in a soft voice.

“Shinta.” He backed away shyly.

“Where are the others that live here?” She looked around as if a little disoriented.

“Daddy’s in the kitchen.” He pointed down the hall.

She stepped slowly out and walked in the direction he had indicated. “Hello?”

Leo turned with the freshly poured mug of tea in hand and stared at what he could only assume was a ghost. The porcelain cup shattered on the floor and the hot liquid scalded his feet, but he didn’t dare move. He barely breathed. His eyes were wide in both fear for his own sanity and astonishment. His breath caught in his throat and he felt paralyzed with anticipation.

She stared at him for a moment, a measure of familiarity passing through her eyes. “I am looking for Donatello. Are you not one of his brothers?”

Leo nodded mutely, not wanting to respond verbally to the ghost. Shinta appeared in the doorway. He looked up at her and smiled. “You want Uncle Donnie? I’ll get him.”

She smiled. “Yes, thank you, little one.”

Leo blinked. His son had spoken to the ghost and it had responded to him. How was that possible? As Shinta left, she turned her blue-gray eyes back on him. “I’m sorry to have frightened you. I am-“

“Amaya.” He whispered, his voice cracking.

She lifted one delicate black brow. “Yes.”

A sharp cry came from the hall, alerting them of Sarah’s presence. Amaya moved away from the door and Leo couldn’t help but follow. His heart pounded in his ears as he watched her move back towards the hall where Don and Sarah stood. Donnie stared at her for an instant and then glanced into this lab where his long unused portal now glowed. “Healer? how did you get here?”

Sarah’s sharp cry had drawn the others from their rooms and they gawked at the woman who’d been dead for five years. Amaya gazed back at the assemblage. Kala peeked around Mikey, who was blocking their door. Kaz stood in the next doorway his mouth hanging open. Cat was clutching at her heart as Raph gripped her shoulders from behind. And Sarah stood beside Donnie her face pale and her hand pressed to her mouth. Shinta lingered just behind her watching with interest.

Amaya had been told this world would be very strange compared to her own. But that was not her primary concern at the moment. She dropped to her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor. “I have come to plead for your help. My lord is gravely ill. He and his brothers will surely die without your aide.”

Donatello frowned. “Amaya, we are not lords here. You don’t have to bow to us. Please tell me what’s happening and how did you get here?”

Amaya stood but kept her head low. “My Lord Napoleon is near death and Lord Genghis is growing weak as we speak. We have not been able to find the source of their illness. Tye was able to send me here. She could not come herself as she helps Lord Rasputin search for a cure.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I beg you to return with me.”

Panic slammed into Sarah like a freight train. Donnie wrapped her tightly in his arms. He lowered his eyes. “I can’t.” He’d swore never to let them be separated like that again.

Amaya grabbed Sarah’s hand. Brown met frantic blue-gray. “Please, my Lady. They will die. He will die. He helped you once.”

Sarah bit her lip and looked up at Donnie. “We have to help. Without Rasputin or Napoleon, we wouldn’t be here.”

He nodded, holding her closely. “ _We_ will help then.” If she was willing to go with him, then he would do his best to assist their counterparts in the other dimension.

Amaya smiled brightly. “Oh, thank you!”

“I’ll come too.” Leo suddenly said.

Raph frowned. “Leo, I don’t think that’s such a good idea, bro.”

Donnie frowned as well. “I have to agree, Leo.”

The leader scowled. “What?”

Mikey shook his head. “I’m sorry, Leo, but I’m with them on this one. I don’t think you can handle it.”

Donnie moved past Amaya and pulled his brother aside. “Leo, I know why you to come, but this is not our Amaya. She may look like her, she may even smell like her, but she’s not her. She doesn’t have any memories of the life you shared with her. And besides, what if something happens over there? Think of Shinta, you’re all he has.”

Leo frowned, his eyes shifting to Amaya and back to his brother. He sighed. Of course she was the reason he wanted to go, and of course his brother was right. But neither of those facts stopped the burning in his heart at the sight of her. Some crazed part of his mind wanted to reach out and kiss her, feel her lips against his again, feel her soft skin. He shoved the idea down violently. This was not his wife, not the mother of his child. He frowned. “You’re right. But you still need someone to watch your back.”

“I could go with them.” Mikey offered.

“Not without me.” Kala informed him.

Amaya nodded. “That is fine, but please we must hurry. Tye set the portal on a timer, it will close soon.”

“I need to get some things from the lab first.” Donnie moved past her into the lab and Sarah followed. They gathered as much as they could carry.

“Dad?” Kaz caught Mikey’s arm.

He turned and gripped his son’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Kazzey. We’ll be back before you know it.” He smiled. “We’ll be with Donnie and Sarah, everything will be alright.”

Kala hugged him. “Help keep an eye on your cousins while we’re gone. We love you so much.”

Kaz frowned but returned the hug. “I love you too.”

Kala stepped away to follow Mikey and Amaya towards the blue light of the portal. Don and Sarah stopped beside the glowing door. The Mazar met Raph’s concerned gaze. “If Mira calls, tell her we’ll be back soon and not to worry.”

With that the two couples followed Amaya’s counterpart through the portal and it winked out behind them.

&*&*&*&*&*&

Rasputin leaned over the desk and peered into the microscope. He just couldn’t figure this out. Sweat beaded on his brow and he swiped at it in irritation. Whatever was happening with Napoleon was now affecting all of them. He squinted at the blood sample again. If he didn’t know better, he’d think that the toxin attacking his brother’s system was unraveling their DNA. But there was nothing he knew of that could possibly do such a thing.

No, it had to be something else. Maybe some type of virus that only affected mutant turtles. None of the humans around them seemed to be affected by their illness. His beloved still seemed strong and healthy to his great relief. He straightened and rubbed his eyes. It had been days since he’d gotten any proper rest.

He opened his eyes to gaze across the throne room turned infirmary. Two of his brothers already occupied two of the cots. Napoleon was by far in the worst shape. He had fallen unconscious an hour ago, after days of fighting the illness. Beside him Genghis grimaced and groaned, his own body trying to fight off the inevitable. Rasputin sighed, running a hand down his tired face. He just didn’t have the experience needed to deal with this.

Thanks to his counterpart’s interference in their world, he’d been freed from his tyrannical father’s hand. He’d been freed to explore science in its completeness without fear of punishment or misuse. Microbiology, however, had not been a priority over the past eleven years and now he was severely regretting that negligence. He pounded a fist against the desk in frustration. If he only had a clue what to look for! So far all the attempts to determine how the illness was being transmitted had failed. If he had at least that piece, he would have something to work off of.

Feeling a familiar presence enter the room, he turned to greet his wife and gasped. “Tye, what have you done!”

The young blonde led Donnie, Sarah, Mikey, and Kala into the room. She moved forward, her expression sad but firm. “I did what I had to do.”

Rasputin put up his hand to stop the group from getting closer. “You must leave now. I do not know how this sickness spreads.” He turned to Tye, cupping her face. “My dearest, you have put them in great danger.”

She grasped his wrists, her eyes full of defiance. “I will not let you die!”

Amaya stepped into the room and around the group. She hurried forward to Napoleon’s bedside. She touched his face. “I’ve returned, my love. I am here.” She frowned as there was no response. “My love?” She lifted frightened eyes to Rasputin. “What has happened to him?”

“He’s unconscious. I cannot get his fever down.” Rasputin explained, his voice full of exasperation.

“Then let us help.” Donnie took a step forward.

“No!” Rasputin shook his head vigorously. “I told you, I don’t know how this spreads. You could carry it home, infect your own family.”

Sarah gazed across the room at the terrified look on Amaya’s face. She couldn’t stand by and watch them be separated again. “Well, you apparently can’t infect me, so I’m staying to help.”

Donnie smirked a bit. “Which means, I have to stay as well.”

“And since it doesn’t seem to affect humans, it shouldn’t affect me.” Kala stepped up next to Sarah.

Mikey folded his arms. “Which means, I’m not going anywhere either.”

“Ras, let them try.” Genghis croaked out from his cot. “They’re already here. They’re already exposed.”

Rasputin frowned. “Fine, but try to keep your distance. If it is transmitted by physical contact at least we can prevent that.”

“I’ve brought my own supplies. I just need somewhere to set up.” Donnie explained.

“I’ll have the servants bring in a table for you.” Tye headed off towards the rear of the hall.

Donnie lifted a brow. “Servants?”

Rasputin nodded. “Disbanding the empire has proved more difficult than we originally thought. Returning control to the original governments has been a slow process. I am glad to say what remains under the empire’s control is small in comparison. And as for the servants, those that remain have chosen to remain. They are no longer slaves, but may come and go as they please.” He swayed and Sarah handed her bag to Kala, and stepped forward to help him. He put up his hands to stop her. “It’s all right. I am just tired.”

Sarah moved quickly back to Donnie’s side, grabbing his hand and clinging to his arm. It was hard for her to watch someone that looked so much like her husband suffer. He frowned down at her. He could tell this was going to be a painful experience for his mate, especially if Rasputin fell ill as well.

A few minutes later, Tye returned with two servants and a table. Don and Sarah immediately started setting up their equipment. Kala caught the young blonde’s attention. “What can I do?”

“You can help keep Lord Genghis’s temperature down.” Tye gestured to the bowl of water and rag that lay beside his cot.

“Wait, Kala.” Sarah stopped her. “Tye, do you have gloves?”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll be right back.” Tye crossed the room to dig through some boxes.

Sarah met Kala’s gaze. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. We don’t want to accidently cause any cross-contamination.” She glanced over her shoulder at Donatello and Michelangelo.

Kala nodded firmly. “I understand.”

Just then the door to the throne room flew open and Cat’s counterpart walked in supporting a very sick looking Attila. Kala stared slack-jawed as they entered the room. She’d seen Donnie’s counterpart, as well as Leo’s and Raph’s. But she was still stunned to see Mikey’s, because he seemed so different with the metal mask covering half his face.

“What happened?” Rasputin demanded as he rushed to help the petite woman with his brother’s weight.

Cat panted. “He started to collapse outside our room.”

 _Our room?_ Kala stared in astonishment as the two carried the turtle across the chamber to the third cot.

Attila opened his eyes to look at Cat as his brother started his initial assessment. “Don’t look so worried. I’ll be all right, Kitten. Ras will have us all fixed up in no time.”

Cat looked up at Rasputin and the turtle shook his head. He couldn’t promise her anything at this point. She plastered on a fake smile as she looked down at Attila. “I know he will.” She lifted his hand and kissed it.

Kala turned to stare at Mikey. He was as white as a sheet and his eyes were as round as saucers. He looked at her and shook his head so hard she thought he might get whiplash. Mikey ripped his eyes away from the odd couple and the probing gaze of his wife, to the table his brother was setting up. “Uh, Donnie, why didn’t you tell me about that!”

Donnie glanced up and shook his head. “It’s weird. Just way too weird. Besides it wasn’t relevant.”

“Relevant!” Mikey glared. “It sure is relevant to me! A heads up would have at least been nice!”

Sarah stopped unloading her supplies to look at the couple in question. Yeah, it was just as strange as it had been the last time. Then she saw Genghis glance at Cat. The woman met his eyes for an instant and he looked away. Maybe things weren’t as simple as they had been the last time.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Mira pulled the van to a stop and yawned. Beside her K-three frowned. “I could have drove, you know.”

She waved him off. “You’ve only been up here a few times. And the turn is kind of hard to find in the dark.”

He smirked. “Still, I’d prefer my bride not be tired on our wedding night.”

She giggled. “It’s almost dawn. I don’t know if it qualifies as night anymore.”

He pulled her to him. “I don’t really care.” He pressed his lips to hers and she melted against him. Vaguely she was aware of being moved out of the van and him lifting her into his arms. The sun peeked up over the horizon as they entered the old farmhouse.

Over the past three years their connection had grown. K-three had paled when they’d explained the bonding process to him and the dangers associated with it. He’d promptly sworn never to put her in that kind of danger again. He’d also confessed that at one point he’d felt her emotions. This had drawn concerned looks from Mira’s parents. Their bond had been weak at first, only letting him sense her when her emotions were extreme. But now, the more they held one another, the more time they spent together, he was beginning to sense her more often. And she could feel him constantly. No longer was the bond interrupted by distance for her, she could sense him clear across the city.

It was all new territory though. She was the only one of her kind. The only female empathic mutant ninja turtle in existence. Luckily she was no longer alone. He was here with her, keeping her safe and secure in powerful arms, filling her with love and loyalty, blocking out the rest of the world.


	3. Points of Contention

Sarah checked Napoleon’s vitals. He was completely unresponsive, his breathing shallow, and there seemed to be blood pooling under his skin. When it was pressed the skin became dark and splotchy. She looked up at Amaya’s tense features. “I take things have developed between you two since Donnie was here last.”

Amaya nodded. “Yes, he is my husband now.” She lifted a brow. “But his counterpart seemed shocked to see me as did you.”

“Our Amaya died several years ago.” Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “A demon killed her.”

Amaya’s eyes widened. “A demon?”

Sarah nodded and looked down at Napoleon. She stroked a hand over his head. “He has never been the same.”

Amaya’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of her love suffering, even if it was his counterpart. She pressed Napoleon’s hand to her cheek. “You must save him.”

Sarah put a hand on her shoulder. “We will do our very best to do just that.” She turned with a sigh and headed back across the chamber to the small lab Donnie had set up.

He looked expectantly at her as she approached. “Well?”

“A day max.” She said sadly. “What’ve you found?” She pulled off her gloves and dropped them in a trash can away from the table.

Don shook his head. “It’s not a virus. It behaves more like a poison, breaking down the cells and even their DNA.”

“Then it’s not a contagion. That’s a relief.” That meant it wasn’t spread by air or contact or even possible fluid exchanges such as sweat.

Don continued to shake his head. “What I don’t understand is how such a dangerous toxin was introduced into their systems in the first place.”

“We could ask.” Mikey gestured at Rasputin who was writing in a notebook.

“That’s not a bad idea, Mikey. He might have some clue as to how it was administered.” They moved towards Donatello’s doppelganger.

Tye put her hand on his shoulder and he looked up. “I thought I explained this already. You shouldn’t-“

“It’s not a virus.” Donnie said flatly.

Both relief and confusion flickered in Rasputin’s eyes. Then anger flashed through them. “Then that means it had to be intentionally introduced into our systems.”

Sarah nodded. “That is exactly what we were thinking.”

“Do you guys still have enemies here?” Mikey asked.

Rasputin wiped at the beads of sweat on his brow. “No. As I said those that are here, choose to be here. They have no reason to hate or fear us any longer.”

Tye knelt beside his chair. “You have to rest, my love. You cannot keep going like this.”

He touched her cheek. “I will rest later. Once I know my brothers are cured.”

She was about to protest when several servants came in bearing trays of food. They lined them up on a table along the wall. One of the women bowed. “Breakfast is served my lords. May it give you strength.” She frowned at them in concern that did not reach her dark eyes.

Mikey watched her leave. “Rasputin, who is that woman?”

“She was one of my father’s concubines.” He rested his head in his palm.

Tye looked at the tall slender woman as she left. “I believe her name is Kai or something like that.”

Ras waved a dismissive hand. “She is of no consequence.”

Not recognizing the name as anything important, Donnie went back to the problem at hand. “Have you noticed anything suspicious, anything out of the ordinary?”

Rasputin shook his head and Tye squeezed his shoulders. “Most of the people are grateful that the emperor was killed. And that the brothers have freed most of the world from the empire. There are only a few parts of North America that remain under their command. And that is simply because the government is having a hard time getting itself back in order after so many years of not being in control.” She shook her blonde head, making the purple highlights twirl around her face. “There’s no one we know of that would want to hurt them.”

Kala joined them. Donnie frowned at her concerned expression. “How’s Genghis?”

“Not good. His temperature continues to rise. He’s conscious, at least for the moment.”

Mikey put a comforting arm around her shoulders. And glanced at his counterpart. Cat hadn’t left his side, though she did keep glancing at Genghis. He frowned burying his nose in Kala’s hair. He really wished Donnie had told him about this particular twist a long time ago. At least he could have prepared himself and Kala for the shock.

There was a knock at the door and a young soldier entered. “Excuse the intrusion, my lords and ladies. But I have several matters of state that need to be attended to.”

Rasputin groaned, dropping his face in his hands. He hated being in control of an empire. He much preferred the solitude of his lab. But with all his brothers incapacitated, he was the only one left to perform such tasks.

“I will take care of it.” Cat walked around the cots and stopped in front of him. “You just focus on them.”

Mikey let out a heavy breath as she left the room. Now that she was gone he felt like he could relax a little. He caught the scent of food and made his way to the large table. “Say, you mind if I…?”

Tye smiled a little. “You’re more than welcome. Eat as much as you’d like.” She looked down at her spouse. “You should eat as well. I don’t remember when you had a proper meal last.”

He started to protest, but thought better of it when she gave him a stern look. He sighed. “Maybe just some bread.”

Donnie moved back to his makeshift lab and Sarah followed Tye to the table. “They can get a little overly focused when they’re in the middle of a project. I’ve known Donnie to go days without eating or sleeping when he is working on something important. But I’ve learned a few tricks over the years.” She winked at the younger girl. “The trick is to find something he simply can’t resist and put it right under his nose.”

Tye scanned the large table with its many foods. “Aw, yes. These will do nicely.” She piled a plate with strawberries and a few rolls. Carrying it back to his desk, she placed it right under him. She was happy to see him eat all the strawberries and then take a few bites of the bread before turning back to his work.

Mikey had made a large pile of food and sat in a chair nearby while he devoured it. Kala ate a few bites off his plate then headed back over to check on Genghis. He was sleeping and so she checked on Attila. As she leaned over him he opened his blue eyes to stare at her. “Who are you?”

“My name is Kala. We’re here to help.”

His gaze shifted to the place Cat had been a few moments earlier and then to his right where his brothers slept a few feet away. He sighed. “Maybe you shouldn’t. We are nothing but abominations, freaks of nature. We are cursed.”

Kala stared at him in shock. “That’s ridiculous. Don’t talk like that.”

Attila’s eyes danced around the chamber and settled on the two new turtles across the room. “You came with Donatello and…. another?”

She took the rag from the bedside and dunked it into the cool bowl of water. Ringing it out, she laid it across his brow. “Yes, Michelangelo, my husband. He’s your counterpart.”

He sighed again, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “That is why you look at me the way you do. It is a look I have not seen in a long time.”

Kala frowned. “But I thought you and Cat were a couple.”

His eyes darted to his right to make sure his brother was still sleeping. “She loved me once. But her affection for my brother grows daily. It is undeniable. I see it in her eyes.”

Kala closed her eyes against the sting of tears. “I…. I’ll get you some water.” She hurried across the chamber, discretely wiping at her tears. With blurry eyes she reached for the picture of water and a glass. “You okay, babe?” Mikey’s hands landed on top of her trembling ones. He lowered the picture and glass, and turned her around. He frowned at her. “What did he say?”

She bit her lip, shaking her head. Burying her face in his chest, she wrapped her arms tightly around him. “I love you, Mikey.”

He squeezed her tightly. “I love you too. But what’s wrong?”

She let out a shuddering breath. “It’s just hard to see them suffer.”

&*&*&*&*&*&

Kaz stared blankly at the television, not really paying it much attention. It had been several hours since his parents and the others had left. He could vaguely remember that the last time the portal had worked that everyone had been very upset. But this time it seemed they were worried but not scared like the last time. He couldn’t help but wonder what was so important that they’d go there without a second thought.

Yoshi came around the couch with Shinta trailing after him. “Hey, Kaz want to play Space Invaders?”

Kaz crossed his arms and looked away. “No, I’m not in the mood.”

Shinta climbed up on the couch beside him. “Are you worried about your mom and dad?”

Kaz snorted. “No. They said they’d be back and they will.” He lied.

Yoshi put his hands on his hips, reading between the lines. “Well, you shouldn’t be. Uncle Donnie went with them.”

“And Neenee too.” Shinta reminded them.

Kaz scowled. “So, what?”

“Uncle Donnie is really smart, Neenee too. So, you shouldn’t worry.” Shinta explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“I said I wasn’t worried!” Kaz gave the little turtle a shove, making him fall back on the other end of the couch.

Yoshi balled his fists, glaring. “Hey, watch it! He didn’t do anything wrong!” He had become very protective of his little shadow over the past few years. For some reason he could tolerate Shinta a lot better than Kaz, probably because he and Kaz were a lot closer in age. He didn’t mind that the smaller turtle followed him around and copied a lot of what he did. In some strange way he felt like he was teaching his cousin. He didn’t even mind when Shinta would crawl into the bed with him when he had a bad dream. He’d silently let him snuggled against him and soon the younger boy would be fast asleep. And so when Kaz got a little too rough with the smallest of them, Yoshi didn’t like it at all.

Kaz turned his glower on him. “Shut up, Yoshi!”

Yoshi’s eyes blazed. “You shut up!”

Kaz started to stand and that was all the signal it took. Yoshi tackled him and they rolled over the back of the couch, crashing to the cement floor. “Just leave me alone!” Kaz tried to shove him off.

“You ain’t the boss of me!” Yoshi growled as they wrestled across the floor. Shinta peeked over the back of the couch at them and began to cry.

“Hey!” Raph barked as he and Leo stepped out of the dojo.

“What is going on here?” Leo demanded. He was not in the mood for their usual squabbling. He’d just had the roughest start to a day in a long time.

“Kaz was being a bully!” Yoshi provided.

“I was not! I just told you to leave me alone!” Kaz protested.

Leo and Raph exchanged a look. These two tended to remind them of themselves when they were young, always bickering over something. For the most part the brothers had moved past that stage of their lives. They had grown and matured to a point that they knew what the other expected and thought without having to voice opinions or resort to blows.

Leo folded his arms. “Well, if you two have so much energy then I don’t see a reason you shouldn’t be in there training.”

“What!”

“But-“

Raph folded his arms as well. “I think that’s a great idea. It wouldn’t hurt either of you to put in a few more hours.”

Shinta peered up over the edge of the couch. Leo sighed, his tone softening some. “You too, Shinta. Come on.” His son had only been training for a year and was still very much in the beginning stages, but Leo was certain he could find him something to keep him occupied. Training was the best distraction for all of them at the moment. It kept their minds off the fact that part of the family was in another dimension battling some strange sickness.

&*&*&*&*&*&

(A/N: Honeymoon scene in chapter 8)

Mira curled into K-three, her heart filled with joy. He hummed softly, rubbing his cheek against her head. She smiled to herself. He had been so tender, so patient, so amazing. She yawned, lifting her head to nuzzle against his neck. “Sleep.” He ordered softly.

“I could sleep for a million years in your arms.” She placed kisses along his shoulder.

“My sweet flower, we have a lifetime to spend together. You should rest, it was a long night.” His humming started again and she could not resist the closing of her eyes. Nothing in the world could harm her here, in this cocoon of warmth and love.

K-three smiled. It was incredible how much he could sense her now. Every nuance of her emotions filled him, speaking deep inside his core. Until now it had been as though he’d only gotten glimpses of her true self, like light slipping through the crack in a door. But when they’d made love, that door had been thrown wide open. That physical contact had been like the last piece in a grand design. Now it felt like he was bathed in sunlight, filled to the brink and flowing over. Her love for him was so incredible that it had brought tears to his eyes.

She was simply magnificent to him in every possible way. Oh, he’d had girlfriends before back home when he was younger, but none of them could ever dream to match this petite turtle nestled in his arms. There had always been a place in his heart that had felt empty. Now she filled it so completely, he thought it might burst from the pressure.

He took a deep breath, drawing in the mixed scents that lingered in the air. What he would give to bottle that scent and carry it around with him. He pressed a kiss to the top of his wife’s head and closed his eyes, allowing her love to pull him down into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering writing a honeymoon scene for Mira and K-three. What do you think?


	4. Spread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will add a honeymoon scene for Mira and K-three but it will be the last chapter, so it can be skipped for those that don't want to read it.

Donnie pulled a chair up and looked across the desk at the spitting image of himself. But this was not him, it was his counterpart. A turtle with the same brain power but with a totally different mindset than him. This turtle had grown up in a cruel and unforgiving world. A world where he had not had the same advantages or opportunities as Donatello. Here his mind had been enchained, forced to do the bidding of a tyrannical emperor professing to be their father.

The memory of his encounter with this universe’s Oroku Saki still gave Don chills. He pushed them aside, focusing on the task at hand. “I think it may be some type of poison or possibly an anti-mutagen of some kind.”

“Anti-mutagen?” Rasputin gave an exhausted nod. “Yes, it is unraveling our DNA.”

“Have you dealt with anti-mutagens before?” Donnie could only recall a few times they’d came into contact with it in their universe.

“No. And the emperor never revealed to us the mutagen’s original source.” Rasputin answered before the question could be asked.

“I think we can treat it either way, but it will be pointless if we can’t stop your exposure to it.”

“How do you propose to treat it?”

“Dialysis and an infusion of untainted blood.”

Rasputin shook his head and regretted it as it made the room swim. “We don’t have any supplies of untainted blood. It’s not something we ever needed.”

Across the room there was a clatter as Mikey fell to the floor. He clutched his head, groaning. “Mikey!” Kala was at his side in an instant, followed closely by Sarah.

Donnie rushed across the room as well. “Mike, what is it? Are you okay?”

“I suddenly don’t feel so good.” Mikey groaned again, resting his head against Kala’s shoulder.

She pressed her hand to his forehead. “He’s running a fever!”

Sarah and Donnie exchanged a worried look. She pressed her fingers into his arm and they left behind little purple splotches that faded slowly. Her eyes held terror when she looked at her mate again. “He’s been exposed.”

“What!” Kala nearly shrieked.

Rasputin stood on wobbly legs. “I warned you. I have not been able to determine how it spreads. His fate will now be ours.” The turtle suddenly collapsed.

Tye rushed to his side from where she’d been caring for Genghis and Attila. “Ras! No!” She turned him over, cradling his head in her lap. “Oh, Ras, please don’t leave me….” Tears poured from her eyes.

“Never, my dearest.” He whispered. He tried to move, but her grip on him tightened. “I’m afraid, however, I will no longer be of use to you.” Donnie moved to kneel beside his counterpart and Rasputin opened his eyes to look at him. “It is up to you now.”

Donnie started to reach for him, to help carry him to the last cot, but Tye put her hands out. “No! Do you have a death wish! Your brother is already sick!” Her world was still full of superstition as it was not as advanced as their own.

Donnie frowned. “It’s not contagious. Someone is poisoning them somehow.”

Tye scowled. “And how would they be doing that? You haven’t left this room and yet your brother has caught this illness.”

Donnie glared. “This is not a virus!”

He started to reach for Rasputin again and Tye slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch him!”

Sarah knelt beside them. She gave the younger girl an irritated glare, before taking Donnie’s hands in hers. “Donnie, please. I know it seems ridiculous to us. But it will make her feel better, if you don’t make physical contact.”

Donnie frowned, his forehead bunching up. “How am I supposed to treat them, if I can’t touch them?”

“I will be your hands for right now, just until we are absolutely certain.” Her brown eyes pleaded with him. He wanted to protest but he also knew that any risk he took was one she also took. So, instead he gave a slight nod. Amaya came from Napoleon’s beside to help Tye lift Rasputin onto the final cot.

“What about Mikey?” Kala asked worriedly.

Sarah and Donnie returned to her side. He frowned down at his little brother. “We’ll take him home.”

Kala’s eyes grew wide. “What?”

Sarah wrapped her hand tightly around Kala’s arm. She leaned close. “He won’t spread it. It’s something here or someone here that is making them sick.”

Kala let out a breath. “Will he get better at home?”

Donnie glanced across the room at the four turtles lying deathly still. “I don’t know. But he will be better off there. Besides there’s not much I can do for him here. This world is a bit more primitive.”

Mikey opened his eyes, which were bloodshot. “Don, you can fix this, right?”

Donnie plastered on his most confident smile. “Yeah, Mikey, I will. Don’t worry.”

Sarah met her spouse’s gaze, she knew he was worried. “I’ll help Kala take him home. You keep working, but please be careful.”

He nodded. “Remember to leave the portal open.”

She nodded and slipped one of Mikey’s arms over her shoulders while Kala took the other. Donnie frowned as he watched them leave the room. How was this affecting them? It appeared to have affected the others at varying times. Rasputin had collapsed after days of exposure, while Mikey had gotten sick only a few hours after their arrival. What was the connection?

He went to his counterpart’s desk and picked up the notebooks scrawled strangely in his own handwriting. He carried them back to his own table and settled down to scan through them. Rasputin’s understanding of microbiology was rudimentary at best. He appeared to grasp basic cell structure and chemical makeups, but not much more. He seemed to be currently working out theories of how this toxin was transmitted to them, trying to locate the initial source in their bodies. He had detailed charts on each of his brothers and even one on himself, cataloguing each symptom and when it had occurred. But the information didn’t make much sense. Napoleon’s symptoms had showed up a few days ago and had slowly progressed into his current state of unconsciousness. Genghis’s symptoms had showed up nearly a day after and they had been more pronounced. While Attila had only just collapsed today, a few hours before Rasputin. Could they have been poisoned individually? Was someone getting close enough to inject them or was it something that was being pumped into the air in the room or the castle itself? If the latter was true, why wasn’t he sick? No, an airborne transmission was unlikely. And he couldn’t remember Mikey getting close enough to anyone for them to inject him.

He could see why his counterpart had been confused. There was little here to go on. There seemed to be no consistency in symptoms or timing. But if it was an anti-mutagen, then there were only a few ways to administer it to them. He sighed and rubbed his brow as he felt Sarah slip beyond the dimensional barrier.

&*&*&*&*&*&

Sarah helped Kala stretch Mikey out across the cot in the lab. The portal’s blue gateway still glowed behind them. “Stay with him. I’ll get Leo and Raph.” Kala nodded gravely, her eyes fixed on her husband. Sarah hurried from the room, she didn’t want to risk getting stuck here while Donnie was still over there alone. “Leo! Raph!” She met up with them as they came charging out of the dojo.

“Sarah? What are you doing here? Where’s Don?” Leo asked alarmed by her tone.

She latched onto his wrist and dragged him towards the lab, explaining along the way. “Mikey’s sick. Donnie’s still on the other side. I have to get back to him. I need you to keep an eye on Mikey. Try to keep his fever down. I’ll leave the portal open, so if you need to get one of us you can.”

She started for the portal, but Leo stopped her. “Wait, how did he get sick?”

She shook her head. There wasn’t time for a full explanation, but she knew what he really wanted to know. “It’s not contagious, I promise.”

Leo nodded. “We’ll keep an eye on him, but what about you and Donnie?”

Raph stepped forward. “I’ll go.”

Sarah shook her head vigorously. “No, you can’t. We’re still not sure how this is spreading. You could get sick as well. And then Cat would skin us both.” She gave them a tiny smile. “We’ll be okay, we’re together.”

She disappeared into the portal as the boys entered the room. Kaz rushed to the cot, panic in his eyes. “Dad!”

Mikey opened his eyes and put his hand over Kaz’s. “I’ll be okay Kazzey. I just need to rest.” He closed his eyes and Kaz felt his guts twist. Tears sprang to the boy’s eyes as he looked up to meet his mother’s gaze. She tried to project confidence but was failing miserably. Unshed tears glistened in her blue eyes and Kaz dropped his head unable to look into them any longer.

Raph put his hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Hey, Kaz, can you keep an eye on him for a minute? We need to talk to your mom.” The boy nodded and Raph angled his head to the door.

Kala followed them into the hall. Leo frowned. “How bad is it over there?”

The tears slipped free. “Terrible. The way Sarah and Don talked Napoleon won’t make it past sunset.” She buried her face in her hands. “What have we got ourselves into? What if Mikey…” She choked back a sob.

Raph grabbed her shoulder, pulling her into an embrace. “We won’t let that happen!”

Leo nodded firmly. “That’s right. If there is even the slightest chance for a cure, Donnie will find it.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Mira opened her eyes and smiled at the sunlight dancing across K-three’s shoulders. She watched it caress the side of his face. He was finally hers. She no longer had to suffer through lonely nights, while he slept no more than twenty feet away in Kaz’s room. They no longer had to slip away to be affectionate. He was her husband, her bond mate. So this is what it was like, this was how her mother felt all the time. She’d been right. There would’ve been no way for her to understand the depth of the bond until now. She still had her empathic powers, but they were nothing in comparison to what she felt coming from her other half.

She slowly slipped out of his sleeping arms. He frowned as she moved away from him. And she wondered just how much his end of the bond had grown. Sighing contentedly, she walked down the steps, stopping to look through the windows and make sure no one had shown up while they slept. Then she turned and walked to the back door pushing it open and stepping onto the porch. Her smile increased as she gazed on the bright blue sky with fluffy clouds and the rolling green of trees and grass.

Her eyes fell on a familiar patch of trees where lilacs grew just beyond. She paused to listen and sense, making sure her mate was still asleep. Then she stepped from the porch and headed for the small grove. She found the familiar marker and the small bonsai tree. Kneeling down she placed a hand over the ground that was now covered in a thick layer of grass.

“We miss you. I miss you. I wish you could’ve been here to meet Kane. I think you would’ve liked him.” She collected a few of the lilacs around her and laid them on the ground beside the marker. “I remember you used to tell us that certain souls were bound forever across time and space. At the time I didn’t really understand that, but now I do.” She glanced over her shoulder back towards the old farmhouse, where she could now feel her mate waking. “He brings me such focus, such peace. It’s something I could have only dreamed of when you were here. I pray you continue to watch over us.”

She stood and headed back for the farmhouse. As she came to the edge of the tree line, she could see K-three standing on the porch waiting for her. She smiled at him from across the yard and he smiled back. She took a step in his direction and stopped. She’d left her empathic powers open and a sudden realization hit her. She couldn’t feel her parents. She could almost always feel them, no matter how far away they were. Only Kane’s touch could sever that connection.

K-three frowned at her and crossed the space between them quickly. “What is it?” He’d felt her sudden worry and panic.

She looked up at him with fear in her brown eyes. “We need to call home.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Sarah stepped back into the throne room to find Donnie pouring over Rasputin’s notes and Cat’s counterpart leaning against the wall a little away from Attila’s cot. She touched Donnie’s arm as she moved past him, silently letting him know she had returned. She stopped beside the counterpart of her sister-in-law. “Uh, Cat, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”

She looked up. “Sarah, right? You’re Tye’s counterpart?”

“Well, sort of.” Sarah frowned, then shrugged. “I was wondering if you could help us with something.”

The blonde’s eyes darted to the two sleeping brothers. “You haven’t made any progress, have you?” Her green eyes held heartache and sadness. “And with Rasputin down you may not be able to save them at all.”

Sarah frowned again. “Don’t underestimate Donnie. If it can be found, he’ll find it. But some information might be helpful. How is it that Attila collapsed after his brothers?”

She shifted into a little straighter position against the wall. “We have been away for several days. We just returned a few hours before he became ill.”

Sarah frowned again. That meant he was only recently exposed, just like Mikey. “Has anything out of the ordinary happened since he returned home?”

Cat shook her head. “Nothing.” Her eyes shifted to Genghis again and she cleared her throat. “How is…. Lord Genghis?”

Sarah saw the concern in the other girl’s eyes. “He is getting worse by the hour. His temperature is rising too fast and the pooling of blood beneath his skin is getting worse.” She bit her lip, knowing that her next statement might cause an argument. “On our world he is your husband.”

The blonde stared at her slack-jawed and then shut her eyes turning her head away. “Don’t speak of such things, even if they are true. Attila and I have been together a very long time.”

“Long enough to grow apart perhaps. On my world his counterpart is very perceptive when it comes to matters of the heart. I noticed and I’ve only been here a few hours. Don’t fool yourself into thinking he doesn’t know.” Sarah turned and crossed back to the cots, giving each patient an exam before returning to Donnie’s side and his makeshift lab.

Cat stared at the two brothers for whom she cared so much. Attila had been by her side for nearly twenty years. He had been loyal, loving, and kind. He had saved her life in battle many times, just as she had done him. Had the rebellion continued there would be no doubt she would’ve stayed with him. But over the past eleven years as they had disbanded the empire, she had come to know Genghis. He was not as confident or as arrogant as he projected. He cared for his brothers with such ferocity that it made her blood rush. Beneath his hardened outside there was something soft, broken, and scared. Something she so desperately wanted to comfort.

But she knew it was impossible. Genghis would never betray his brother again. Never hurt him again. They had never voiced their attraction and probably never would. Sarah’s words did nothing more than twist the knife of reality deeper into her heart. She sighed deeply and moved back to Attila’s bedside. She lifted his hand and cradled it in hers. She would stay with him. No matter if he lived or died, she would remain by his side. She resigned herself to fate’s design.


	5. Intruder

Mira held the phone away from her and glared at it. Had they all gone mad since she left last night? “What were you thinking, Uncle Leo? Letting them go over there.”

Leo’s voice filtered through the phone. “It’s okay, Mira-chan. It’s different this time, the portal is stable. Besides, we can’t ignore our friends when they need help.”

“Friends? Have you forgotten what happened last time? Mom and dad almost died!”

“That won’t happen this time. They’re over there together. And even if the portal does close, I’m sure Donnie can reopen it from the other side.”

Mira’s pace increased as she walked to and fro across the living room. “You can’t be serious! You already said Uncle Mikey’s sick. They could be sick on the other side and you wouldn’t even know it!”

Leo sighed. “Your mother seemed fine when she was here a little while ago. She didn’t want you to worry.”

Mira threw her free hand in the air. “Worry! They just traveled to an alternate dimension!”

K-three frowned as he watched his new bride cross the room again, continuing to argue with her uncle. He could feel she was near panic and he was getting more frustrated by the minute. This was supposed to be their honeymoon, a time to spend together alone. He had come to cherish Mira’s family as much as he had once cherished his own, but for some reason there always seemed to be trouble of some sort. He’d hoped the distance between them would give them a bit of isolation, a chance to really be on their own. But it seemed that was not going to be the case.

He finally stood and took the phone from his mate, who gave him an annoyed look. “We’re coming home.” He hung up before he could hear the protest he knew was coming from the other end.

Mira frowned up at him. “We don’t have to.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “Our family is in danger. We should be there.”

Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him as far she could reach. “I love you.”

He kissed the top of her head and held her just as tight. “I love you too. Now, let’s get home.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*

Kala rested her head on the cot beside Mikey, his hand clasped in hers. It had been hours since they last heard from Sarah and Donnie. The youngest brother was sleeping now, though not pleasantly. His face was still contorted in pain.

Kaz stepped into the doorway of the lab. Why did it suddenly feel like someone was watching him? He frowned as he crossed the room. “I’ve brought some fresh water and some more ice packs.”

Kala lifted her head, her eyes red from crying. She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks, honey.”

The boy looked down at his father’s tortured expression. “How is he?”

“He’s just sleeping.” She took the ice packs and arrange them around the cot. Then dipping the rag in the water, draped across her spouse’s brow.

Kaz looked a little lost. “Is there anything else I can do?”

Kala shook her head. “No, honey, just help keep an eye on the others. Okay?”

In the kitchen, Cat stomped her foot. “No!”

Raph paced back and forth in front of her. “I have to! Look what happened to Mikey. Donnie could be in the same shape.”

Cat folded her arms.  “And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t go! You could get sick!”

He took a step in her direction. “Darlin’, you know I’m no good at sittin’ around doin’ nothin’. Leo might be okay with it, but I can’t.”

Cat pushed away from him as he reached for her. She wasn’t going to let him sweet-talk her this time. “No!” Angry and desperate tears started to pour their way down her face. “You can’t!” She took a shuddering breath trying to calm herself. “Sarah already said you shouldn’t go.”

He caught her in his arms despite her struggle and crushed her against his chest. “I gotta go, darlin’. Someone has to check on them.”

She tried to pull away unsuccessfully. “Then I’ll go. Apparently I can’t get sick.”

“You can’t, darlin’. It’s way too dangerous over there for you to go by yourself. It has to be me.”

She pounded lightly on his plastron. “No! Please, Raph!” She suddenly sagged against him, all her strength gone. “If anything ever happened to you….”

He pressed kisses into her hair and on her brow, all the while clutching her closely. “Shh, I’ll be okay. Now please, stop the tears. You know I can’t stand ’em.”

A small sob escaped her, ripping through her small frame. He shut his eyes tightly, fighting the pain that small sound caused him. She drew in several deep breaths, gripping his plastron. “Fine you can go, but I’m coming too.”

Yoshi frowned as he listened to his parents argue from his room. Beside him Shinta was doing his math homework. Which was what he was supposed to be doing as well. But the vibe in the lair was just too intense. He looked back down at the paper in front of him, but he couldn’t concentrate. His parents’ voices suddenly quieted and it made his stomach knot-up.

“Is this right, Yoshi?” Shinta showed him his paper.

“Uh, yeah.” He said distractedly, not really looking at it.

“Neenee is going to be so happy when she finds out we did our homework on our own.” The five-year-old smiled happily and went back to the few math problems that remained.

Yoshi glanced towards the door as footsteps came in their direction. His heart raced, the pit of his stomach turning cold. Some part of him knew what was happening and it scared him. His fears were only proven when his parents stepped into the doorway. He tried to set his jaw and put on a stoic mask as he’d seen them do a hundred times, but what they saw was nothing short of terror in his green eyes.

Raph knelt down in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be right back, Yoshi. We’re just goin’ to get Don and Sarah.”

Cat stroked a hand down his cheek. “We won’t be long.”

“I want to come too!” He balled his fists, twisting the fear into defiance.

They both shook their heads. “You gotta stay here. It’s way too dangerous. If somethin’ happened to us over there or to you…. You’re a whole lot safer here.”

Cat pulled their son into a tight embrace. “Watch out for Shinta. We love you.”

“Yeah, we do.” Raph squeezed his small shoulder and stood, his own eyes betraying his trepidation at leaving him behind. “Be good. No fightin’ with Kaz.”

They stepped out into the living room and Yoshi’s heart twisted and twitched inside him. He ran after them. “Wait!” Raph caught him as he jumped into his arms. “I love you too.”

Raph squeezed him tightly, fighting down the powerful desire to stay behind and protect his child. He slowly set him on his feet and turned away. Leo was waiting for them near the lab door. “You’re sure you want do this?” Both Cat and Raph nodded. “Then be careful.” He glanced over his shoulder at Mikey. “We’ve already got one brother down. I don’t want to see two.”

Raph nodded. “We’re just goin’ to check on ‘em. If everything is okay, we’ll come right back.” He took Cat’s hand in his and together they disappeared through the open portal.

Leo sighed and crossed the room to Mikey’s side. “How’s he doing?”

Kala shook her head. “Not good. Look.” She pushed lightly on his arm and dark splotches formed below his skin. “And his breathing is getting shallow.” Tears began to streak her pale cheeks. He would die, if Donnie didn’t show up with a cure soon.

Mikey looked up at her with unfocused eyes. “Babe, don’t cry. You know I hate it when you cry.”

Kala nodded, but she couldn’t stop them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in it. “Please don’t leave me.”

He struggled to lift a hand and rest it over one slender arm. “I’m not going anywhere.” He closed his eyes, but continued to take slow shallow breaths.

Leo squeezed Mikey’s shoulder. “Hang in there, bro. I’m sure Donnie will have a cure anytime now.” Kaz stood at the foot of the cot, swiping at his eyes. Leo turned to him. “Come on, Kaz. Let’s see what we can find you boys to eat. It’s nearly dinner time.” He wrapped an arm around the teen’s shoulders as he guided him out.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Donnie slammed his fist into the table so hard it made Sarah’s hand ache. This was so frustrating! Every time he found what he thought was a lead it fizzled out into nothing. He sank into the chair and dropped his face into his hands. Every time he found what he believed were the invading cells, they would slip into the remaining blood cells and explode. This happened so fast that he had no way of capturing one alone to examine it and they were running out of time.

Across the room, Napoleon started to gasp for air. Donnie was on his feet, rushing to his side in less than a second. Sarah and Tye hurried over. He ignored the younger girl’s glare at the physical contact as he immediately started his assessment. “We need to intubate him. I need a breathing tube and a ventilator.” When he looked up, Tye reacted instantly. She’d seen that look in her own spouse’s eyes too many times. He was deathly serious.

Sarah hurried after her and helped her carry back the large unit that had been resting against the far wall. Amaya was trying to stay out of the way as she clutched at Napoleon’s hand, begging him in incoherent sobs to stay with her. The two women returned with the supplies, and Donnie tilted his brother’s counterpart’s head back to insert the tube. As soon as it was in, Sarah switched on the ventilator. Napoleon took a rasping breath, his whole body shuddering.

Donnie’s shoulders slumped and he met his wife’s eyes. “We can’t wait any longer. We have to start dialysis. We have to clean their blood.”

“But we’re not sure of what the source is or even what we’re trying to eliminate.” Tye protested.

Sarah grabbed the other girl’s arm. “If we don’t do this now they will die, all of them will die.” She emphasized this point by looking pointedly at Rasputin.

Tye bit her lip, tears pooling in her blue eyes. “Okay. But we don’t have any of that equipment here.”

Cat rose from her place beside Attila. “Then we’ll just have to go get it.”

Tye gave a firm nod. “I know where to find some.”

“Whatever you do just hurry.” Donnie looked down at the turtle that so resembled his brother. It was tearing him apart watching them die like this. They had come to him for help and so far he’d done nothing but stand by and watch them suffer.

Sarah caught his arm and pulled him aside as the two women left the chamber. “She has a point. We don’t know what we’re looking for.”

Donnie shook his head sadly. “We’re just going to have to use a broad filter. Flush everything out that shouldn’t be there. The problem is I don’t think that’s going to be enough.” He moved back to the table and flipped through one of Rasputin’s notebooks. “Rasputin and I seem to agree that an infusion of untainted blood has to be administered soon after the dialysis to jumpstart the healing process. And he told me they don’t have a ready supply.”

Sarah thought this over for a long moment. Then her eyes lit up with an idea. “They may not, but we do.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

The old van groaned as it came to a stop beside the garage. It had long outlived a vehicle of its age, surviving dozens of overhauls and new equipment. But the main components could not avoid being worn down by time or use. As K-three shut off the engine, it was like the old beast gave a shuddering sigh of relief. He turned to Mira. “That is an incredible story.” He frowned. “And terrifying. Now that I know what it feels like to have our bond, I could never imagine being separated from you.”

Mira nodded. “Me too. Even my empathic powers were nothing in comparison to the bond. It must have been so terribly painful for them.”

He slipped an arm around her, pulling her close and rubbing his cheek against her head. “Yeah, I couldn’t imagine it. And I wouldn’t want to.”

She sighed, feeling his love flow over her. “I’m sorry we had to cut our honeymoon short.”

He chuckled lightly. “Maybe we can give it another try in a few weeks.”

She tilted her head back, smiling at him. “I think I’d like that.”

He gave another chuckle, this one deeper and Mira felt the edge of desire with it. He kissed her softly. “Come on.” After a quick glance to be sure no one was around, he slipped from the van and helped her down. They headed through the closed garage and down the elevator.

The silence in the lair was unsettling. Mira reached out her senses, but she could feel only a small part of her family nearby. And something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She hurried to the kitchen door and blew out a breath at the sight of Leo and the three boys eating.

Leo frowned at her as K-three stepped up behind her. “You didn’t have to come home, Mira?”

“Yes, we did.” She looked around. “Where is everyone else?”

Leo continued to frown. “Raph and Cat went to go check on Don and Sarah. Mikey and Kala are in the lab.” The distraught look in his eyes made her heart clench. K-three’s arm wrapped around her waist and she automatically leaned into him, seeking his support.

At the mention of his father, Kaz pushed his plate away losing what little appetite he’d had. “Why don’t I take Mom something to eat?”

“That’s a good idea, Kaz.” Leo passed him the plate he’d set aside. Mira and K-three sat down as he tried to fill them in on what they knew.

Kaz tuned them out as he slowly began his walk back to the lab. Part of him was anxious and wanted to be near his parents, while another part was dreading seeing his father like he was. He rounded the corner and froze. His father still slept on the cot and beside him his mother also slept. Her head resting near his shoulder and her eyes closed. It would have been a peaceful scene, except for the stranger standing over them, sword drawn, ready to decapitate the sleeping turtle.

The plate clattered to the floor, his hand instinctively going for the kusarigama where it had remained tucked in his belt since their interrupted training session. “Get away from them!”

The figure turned revealing himself. It was a boy not much older than him. Long dark hair swayed about powerful shoulders and sharp cold eyes dug into the young turtle. In the blink of an eye he was moving across the room and Kaz charged forward to meet him, the blade of his sickle clinging against the edge of the katana. “Who are you!” Kaz demanded as he tried to overpower the boy.

The boy remained silent, his only response was another slice with his blade. Kaz jumped back throwing the weighted end of his chain at the same time, trying to catch the blade. The boy threw up a hand so fast it was a blur, catching the chain in midair. He tossed it aside with a growl and charged again at the teenage turtle. Kaz was vaguely aware of someone shouting and footsteps pounding across the floor.

Kala had moved around the cot, keeping Mikey protectively at her back. He was far too incapacitated to even defend himself. She watched her son battle the intruder with ferocity, exchanging blow after blow, deflecting the sharp katana with his sickle. The others piled into the doorway, gasping at the stranger.

“Kaz!” Yoshi sprang forward as if to help, but Leo caught him and shoved him into Mira’s arms. She struggled to maintain control of the muscular child.

“Yoshi stay back!” Leo ordered, his eyes fixed on the dark haired young man. He started forward and the intruder turned on him without hesitation and brought his blade down. Unarmed, Leo caught the blade between his hands and tried to twist it away. The young man snarled and kicked him hard in the midsection, sending him flying backwards into the wall. The boy was fast and strong. Leo hadn’t expected that from the slender human.

The weighted end of Kaz’s chain wrapped around the end of the katana, ripping it away from the intruder’s hands. “Stay away from my family!” Kaz shouted.

K-three sprang forward, but the boy let fly a handful of shurikens. K-three jumped to the side to avoid them, while behind him Mira twisted with Yoshi still in her arms to tuck Shinta against her. She gave a sharp cry as one sliced along her arm to embed itself in the wall across the hall. K-three roared in anger. “That’s my mate you little punk!” For the first time the boy seemed to be caught off guard as K-three’s fist slammed into his chin. He stumbled back trying to gather his senses, but didn’t have time as the turtle’s large hand wrapped around his throat lifting him from the ground. As K-three raised a fist for another blow, the intruder pulled something from his pocket. There was a blinding flash and smoke filled the room.

K-three stumbled back into the computer console rubbing at his eyes. Kala gave a cry as she saw the stranger emerge from the smoke and charge at her. A green body slammed into him and they rolled across the floor. “I said stay away from them!”

The boy had recovered his katana and used it to block the sickle as it descended on him. For a moment the two boys struggled, muscles and teeth grinding. Then Kaz let out a roar of his own and used the sickle’s curved edge to yank the blade away from his opponent. The katana clattered as it skittered across the floor. The boy’s dark eyes widened as the sickle descended on him again and this time he had nothing to block it with.


	6. The Line

“What do you mean you haven’t found a cure!” Raphael leaned across the table, glaring daggers at his brother.

“Raph, you’re not helping things!” Sarah clutched at his arm.

He ignored her. “Mikey’s over there dyin’!”

Donnie came out of his chair. “You don’t think I know that!” Sarah bristled, stepping away from Raph. She could feel the pain the accusation had caused course through her mate. She stepped to his side and put a hand on his arm, trying to soothe him.

“Raph, stop it! He’s doing the best he can!” Cat clutched at his other arm.

He shot her a quick glare. “Best! Our brother is dyin’ and-“

The door to the throne room flew open and Tye led several men in with large dialysis machines. Don brushed past Raph headed for Napoleon as Tye instructed the men to put a machine beside each cot. Then she hurried to Rasputin’s side. He was still conscious enough to give her a small greeting.

Napoleon’s pulse was so weak now that it could barely be felt. Donnie begged this to work as he hooked him to the machine. “We need to get them all hooked up.”

Cat watched Amaya dip her head and tears run down her cheeks. Things were definitely desperate here. She wondered if Mikey was okay and if they should go back to start the same procedure on him. She started to turn to Raph and came nose to nose with her counterpart. The two women stared at each other for a long moment, looking each other over. Although Cat had lean muscle and a firm body, her counterpart had muscular biceps, long hair in ponytail and her face was slimmer as if food were a luxury she did not partake in. There was a hardness in her eyes as well. The look reminded Cat of the days just after Danny had died, when she had stood alone defending herself and her shop against Tucker’s men.

Cat’s counterpart snorted, breaking the stare-down. “You’re supposed to me. Pathetic. You wouldn’t last a day here.”

She started to push past Cat and found herself staring up at Raph. A wicked grin lit his mouth. “Two Cats. I think I’d like that.”

Cat’s counterpart frowned. “You must be Genghis’s doppelganger.”

Raph jabbed a thumb at himself. “Raphael.”

Her frown remained as she moved past him towards the cots. They watched her step between Genghis and Attila’s cots. She gave the larger turtle a quick look and deliberately turned her back on him. She leaned over Attila, whispering softly to him and placing a kiss on his lips.

Raph took a step back. “Ew!” He glanced at Cat, who stared unflinching at the couple. She finally turned her gaze to him. “Do you-“

“No freakin’ way!” She sputtered. “Not in a million years.” Relief washed over him as she reached for him. “There is only one turtle I could ever love. And that’s you, tough guy.” He smiled and kissed her brow. Cat saw the girl glance at them out of the corner of her eye. _Something tells me she feels the same way, and not about Attila._

Once all four turtles were hooked up to dialysis machines and their blood being filtered. Don and Sarah returned to the makeshift lab. Sarah frowned as he rubbed his tired eyes. “Well, that should keep them alive for now. Once it’s done we’ll have to do the transfusion. But none of that will help if we can’t locate the source. They’ll just continue to get sick.”

Servants came from the back of the chamber, once again filling the long table with food and then quietly slipping away. Sarah eyed them. “Maybe we’ve been looking at this the wrong way. We don’t need to focus on how they got sick.” She gestured at the four mostly unconscious turtles. “We should focus on how Mikey got sick. There was very little here that he was exposed to. We just need to narrow it down.”

Donnie nodded. “Well, I’ve already eliminated airborne or injectable forms. Maybe it was something he touched. What else was exposed to?”

“What about them?” Raph jabbed a thumb in their counterparts’ direction. “Maybe they did somethin’ to him.”

“No, they have no reason to want to hurt us. We’ve done nothing but help them. Besides, why risk their own lives to get to us.” Donnie shook his head.

“There was something else he was exposed to.” Sarah crossed the room and returned with a plate of food. “This.”

“What? Food?” Raph frowned. He didn’t get the connection.

“It makes perfect sense.” Sarah began to explain. “Attila got sick only a few hours after returning from his trip. Napoleon likely realized something was wrong early on and stopped eating. Genghis probably stopped when it made him sick. And Rasputin?” She gave her mate a crocked smile. “Well, when you go into overdrive mode you don’t eat and he’s apparently the same way. And that explains why he lasted the longest.”

Don grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and cut a small sliver of bread. He slid it under his microscope. There they were, dormant molecules of anti-mutagen. To be certain he placed a small drop of blood on the slide. The anti-mutagen aggressively attacked the blood cells, ripping them apart. He lifted his head and gave the others a nod. Raph turned to the three women. “Hey, girls, I think we need to have a talk.”

Sensing his serious tone, the three joined them at the table. Donnie gestured at his microscope. “Look.” He stepped aside as Tye leaned over the device. “You see those little invaders? They are anti-mutagen and they are the cause of their sickness.”

“Yeah and they’re also in your food.” Raph shoved the plate towards them.

The three women stared at them with wide eyes. Tye went pale. Rasputin might not have fallen more ill, if she hadn’t have begged him to eat. Cat’s counterpart shook her head in disbelief. “But we’ve been eating the same food. Why aren’t we sick?”

“It wouldn’t affect you. It only affects mutants like us.” Don explained.

Raph growled. “You’ve got a traitor hangin’ around here.”

Amaya glanced towards the back of the throne room. “But Karai has been our cook for nearly two years. Why would she do something like this now, after all this time?”

“It don’t matter why. When I get my hands on her….” Raph cracked his knuckles, fire in his eyes.

Donnie put up a hand. “Wait, Raph, if I could get a sample of the original anti-mutagen she used, then I might be able to reverse engineer it. It would save us all a lot of trouble.”

Sarah frowned. “That may still take some time. We should get Mikey started on dialysis as well. The faster we can clean his blood, the better off he’ll be.”

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

The smoke cleared enough for Leo to see Kaz rip the katana from the intruder’s hands and send it flying across the room. He gasped as saw what was about to happen. “Kaz stop!”

The young man’s eyes were round as the blade of the sickle stopped mere centimeters from striking him right between the eyes. Above him Kaz’s body twitched with the restraint of the blow, his eyes narrowed. Then they softened for a moment as he suddenly realized he’d nearly killed the boy. Just as fast his expression changed back to a scowl.

But Leo was at his side now, a hand on his shoulder and the other on the handle of his sickle. “It’s okay, Kaz. You got him. He’s not going to hurt anyone else.” Slowly he eased the young turtle off and roughly turned over the human teen. He pinned him against the floor with a knee on his back. “K-three hand me that rope.”

K-three rubbed his eyes again, but managed to find the rope Leo was indicating. As he brought it over, Leo searched the boy for additional weapons. Finding none, he tied him up and turned him over. K-three meanwhile had rushed back to the doorway, where Mira knelt a hand pressed over the cut on her arm. “Are you alright?” He asked softly as knelt beside her.

She nodded mutely, tears pooling in her eyes.  He frowned taking her arm in his hand, examining the wound. He’d gotten pretty good a basic first aid in the past few years, you had to living with a bunch of vigilantly ninjas. The cut was along the outside of her left forearm. Although it bled, it wasn’t deep enough to need stiches.

Yoshi clutched Shinta against him as they both stared at their oldest cousin. Shinta sniffled little tears trailing down his face, while Yoshi’s bottom jaw trembled in both fear and anger. She had protected them with her own body and now she was hurt.

K-three helped Mira to her feet and across the room to where the medical supplies were kept. Leo glanced in their direction. “Mira?”

“I’ll be okay.” She said her voice cracking just a little.

Leo glared at the young man that had managed to get to his knees. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The boy glared back. There was something strangely familiar about that glare. “I do not have to tell you, monsters, anything.”

“Monsters! You tried to kill my father!” Kaz started forward but Leo stopped him.

“Kaz, go take care of your mom.” He said softly.

Kaz glanced at his mother and realized she was white as a sheet. He hurried over and she wrapped her arms around him. He murmured softly to her, reassuring her he wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

Leo turned his gaze back to the boy. “Tell us what’s going on.”

The boy snorted. “I have nothing to say to you, interlopers.”

K-three wrapped the last of the bandage around Mira’s arm and taped it down. He stood and marched across the room, fury in his eyes. He yanked the boy off the ground. “You’ll talk or I’ll send you back to your dimension in pieces.”

The boy’s dark eyes widened and fear finally flickered in them. “Kyoudai. My name is Kyoudai.”

“Okay, Kyoudai, what are you doing here?” Leo put a hand on K-three’s arm, getting him to lower the boy to his feet. However, the Turtleoid did not release his grip.

The portal flickered behind them as Donnie stepped through. He frowned at the scene that met him. “What’s going on?” His eyes shot from K-three’s angry face to his daughter. “Mira, what are you two doing here? And what happened to your arm?”

She touched the bandage. “It’s just a cut.”

“This piece of garbage attacked us.” K-three snarled his eyes never leaving the boy.

“And we’d like to know why?” Leo pressed.

The boy just glared. Donnie frowned. “He doesn’t have to tell us we’ll find out soon enough. But first I need to get Mikey hooked up and the impurities cleaned from his system.” He moved across the room to where he kept his medical supplies and found the unit he was looking for. He carried the machine, along with several transfusion kits, back to the bedside and inserted the tube into his brother’s arm. “This dialysis machine will should clean the anti-mutagen from his system.”

Leo looked hopefully at his genius brother. “Does that mean you’ve found a cure?”

Don shook his head. “Not exactly, but I may have one soon. Now that we know the source.”

The boy in K-three’s grip gave a small gasp, his brows shooting up. Leo glared at him. “So, you are part of this.”

The boy growled but gave no further answer. Donnie flipped on the machine. “We’ll take him back with us. I’m sure we can convince him to talk.”

Leo glanced at him. “Us?”

“Yeah, I need you to come with me.” Don turned to Mira. “Do you remember how to run the equipment?”

She got up and moved to his side. “Yes.”

He gave her a small smile, touching her injured arm. K-three glanced at them, his anger still not satisfied. “I’ll go with you.” He was itching for a brawl with whoever caused all this.

Donnie shook his head as he approached him. “No, we need you to stay here.” He glanced over his shoulder at his daughter. “Take care of them. It may be a while before we return. Keep an eye on the portal. Make sure no one else gets through.”

K-three nodded and released his prisoner into Donnie’s hands. Leo turned and stepped to the door, where Yoshi and Shinta still stood. He knelt in front of his son. The tot threw his arms around his neck. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you, always remember that.”

Shinta sniffled burying his face in father’s neck. “I love you too, Daddy.”

Leo clenched his eyes tightly shut. “Be good. I’ll be back soon.” He forced himself to stand and Yoshi pulled Shinta back into his arms. Leo smiled. It would figure Raph’s son would be so protective of his. He finally turned away and followed Donnie and their prisoner into the glowing doorway.

&*&*&*&*&*&*

Raph glared at the woman that knelt on the floor before him. Her dark eyes held no remorse only hatred and resentment. Four guards held weapons on the slender woman. And he was flanked on either side by his Cat and her counterpart. “So, you’re the one that’s been poisonin’ them?”

She glared back at him unflinching, her face stoic, revealing nothing. “You are not one of my lords I do not have to answer to you.”

Cat’s counterpart growled, slamming a fist into the side of the woman’s face and yanking the her to her feet. “You may not have to talk to him, but you sure as hell have to talk to me.” She flung her backwards onto the stone floor. “Now where’s the poison?”

Karai wiped at her chin, where a trickle of blood came from her mouth. She smirked. “You can do whatever you want with me, they will still fall - all of them.”

“I hope you weren’t counting on him to help you.” Leo shoved the teenager ahead of them as they entered the room.

Karai lifted a brow ever so slightly and then looked away. Raph watched her before turning to his brothers. “Who’s this guy?”

“He snuck into the lair through the portal.” Leo gave the boy another shove forward and then forced him to his knees. He looked at the slender woman who also knelt on the floor a few feet away. “I have a feeling you two know each other.”

The teen’s eyes darted from his three able-bodied turtles to the four incapacitated ones. He did not dare a glance at Karai. Sarah moved to Donnie’s side. “What should we do with them?”

“Well, if they won’t talk then they’re of no use to us.” Leo walked to the foot of Napoleon’s cot where his swords rested. Drawing one, he walked back to where the boy knelt. “I think I know what Napoleon would do.” He narrowed his eyes and lifted the blade.

Karai shrieked and scrambled forward to wrap her arms around the boy. “No! Have mercy! He is my son!”

Leo lowered the weapon, his bluff having had the desired effect. “Then tell us why you did this?”

She scowled at him, clutching the boy in her arms. “They are abominations! Kyoudai is the rightful heir to the Empire. He is the emperor’s son. He is the only legitimate heir to the throne. These four are false lords! They have no right to disband the empire!”

Donnie stared at her for a long moment. “This is Oroku Saki’s son?”

Beside him, Raph gawked. “He’s the Shredder’s kid!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karai will never likely make a true appearance in my T-verse, because I hate her in all her versions. So, my guys don't know her and that is fine by me! But she doesn't make a bad vilianess in an alternate universe... -laughs maniacally-


	7. Mixed Blessings

“We should kill ‘im, save these guys a lot of problems!” Raph roared.

“No! Please!” Karai pleaded. Leo frowned, folding his arms.

Donnie glared. “He has a point. He tried to kill Mikey, he attacked Kaz and he hurt Mira.” The last part made Sarah glare as well. This boy had hurt their daughter!

“Why did you attack us, when your issue is with them?” Leo indicated the other turtles.

Karai scowled. “You interfered in our world. If not for you, they would have died and my son would have become emperor. You needed to be eliminated.” The boy lifted his head, eyes cold and dark.

“For their crimes they both deserve death!” Cat’s counterpart balled a fist and shook it in rage.

Raph growled. “She’s right, Leo. We can’t let them go.”

“No.” Leo shook his head and glanced over his shoulder at Napoleon and then at Amaya. “We’ll leave them to be dealt with by the others. This is not our world and we have no right to make decisions for our counterparts.”

Amaya stood and joined them. “May I suggest the dungeon then.” She narrowed her eyes on the woman cowering on the floor. “I also suggest you make peace with yourselves for when the sun rises, you will die.” Leo flinched a little from the coldness in her tone.

Tye stepped up beside Amaya, her eyes cold and sharp. “Take them away. Put them in the darkest hole you can find.” The guards yanked the pair roughly to their feet.

Kyoudai met Leo’s gaze. “You will regret this, freak. You all will.”

Leo glared back. “You’re in no position to make threats.” But something twisted in his guts, the warning striking far too close to home.

There was a search of the Karai’s quarters and a single vial of anti-mutagen was found. Donnie said it was plenty to examine and reverse engineer. But first things first. They had to save their counterparts. So, Leo found himself hooked to a transfusion kit, providing his counterpart with life-giving blood. Amaya sat unnervingly close, one of Napoleon’s hands clasped between hers. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Thank you for saving him.”

Leo blushed slightly, unable to look at her. She was too much the same, too soft-spoken, too elegant. She was sitting so close he could nearly taste her. He fought every instinct in his body not to reach out for her, not to crush her against him, not to brush away the dampness on her cheeks. He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes locked on his counterpart. “You don’t need to thank us. They _are_ us after all.”

She frowned. “The little one I saw he was yours?”

Leo nodded, his eyes still averted. “Ours.”

She finally turned to look at him and his skin heated. “You mean you and my counterpart’s?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“He is beautiful. And I must say that is quite...miraculous.”

Leo shifted a little uncomfortably. “It wasn’t…natural. But Donnie could explain it to Rasputin if you want.” He was trying to steer the conversation away from his Amaya.

But this Amaya would not have any of that. Her frown continued. “I’m sorry. Sarah told me what happened, that you lost her.”

He bit his lip and dug his fingers into the arms of the chair. “Yes.”

She watched him for a long moment and her eyes drifted to Napoleon. She took in a shaky breath. “Are we so much the same that you cannot even look at me, without seeing her?”

Leo didn’t know how to respond to that, other than with a resounding yes. And so he remained silent.

She sighed. She could see the terrible pain in his heart. The open and gaping wound her counterpart had left. A tear trickled down her cheek that was not for her own love, but for his counterpart. “If she and I are the same as you and Napoleon are the same, and she loved you as I love him, then I will speak on her behalf.” She released Napoleon’s hand to take Leo’s. His head shot around to stare at her. Her blue-gray eyes sought out his soul through his blue ones. “She would not want you to suffer. She would not want you to be alone. She would want you to be happy, to smile, to be filled with joy. She would want you to laugh and love.”

He couldn’t resist it any longer as he reached across the space between them and pulled her against his chest. A tear trickled from his eye as he ran his fingers through her hair. She started to pull away then stopped. She sighed again and relaxed against him. “It is her you hold not me?” She felt him nod against her hair. “I am his. But for the moment I will be yours and hers.” She closed her eyes and allowed him to hold her. A gift from her counterpart to him. One last moment together.

Leo held her tightly, his eyes closed, imagining that he was holding his wife again. He allowed the scent of herbs and flower to wash over him. In his mind he saw the horrific scene again. Amaya sprawled on cement floor, blood pooling around her, her soft skin cold to the touch. His arms tightened around the warm body in his arms, a soft sob left him as he buried his face in her hair. “I miss you. I still love you. I will always love you.” His whisper was almost inaudible, even to the woman he cradled in his arms. At last he pulled away, staring at her. “Thank you.”

Her smile was sad. “It is the least I could do for you, who has saved my husband.”

Meanwhile, Donnie had hooked Raph up to Genghis and now he was sitting beside Rasputin ready to give his own blood. Sarah stared at him, the needle in her hand. He’d had a feeling this would happen. It was extremely difficult to harm one another. Their bond was too strong. Besides the fact that they felt each other’s pain, they also mirrored the wounds now. It was a good thing in that it meant he healed a lot faster, but it was bad in it meant even simple things such as inserting an IV were very difficult for either of them. Usually he’d have Mira or Leo help, but his brother was currently occupied. He put his hand over hers with a small smile. “Tye, would you mind helping?”

The young blonde looked up from Rasputin. “Why do you need my help?”

He glanced at her. “We feel each other’s pain. It’s hard to do this sort of thing.” He offered her the needle and she took it, but her expression showed she was confused by the statement though. She finally shrugged and set the IV in his arm. When she looked up, she was surprised to see a trickle of blood on Sarah’s arm in the same place as she’d put the IV in Don’s.

“I don’t understand.”

Donnie squeezed Sarah’s hand. “You are human, Sarah is not.” He smiled at his wife. “It’s a long story.” Sarah smiled back, her other hand coming up to encompass the one she held.

“What about Attila?” Cat’s counterpart watched them from his bedside, her arms folded. “Your other brother is sick.”

Don nodded. “Yes, but we do have some blood on hand for him. It won’t be much, but it should help jumpstart the healing process. But it may take a lot longer for him to recover. Unless I can reverse engineer the anti-mutagen.” But to retrieve the blood, it meant that he or Sarah would likely have to return to their dimension. And right now he needed her close, so their bond would heal him faster. Wait, Mira was there!

He turned to the cot beside him. “Cat, we need you to go back to the lab. Tell Mira to get Mikey’s stored blood from the med—fridge. There are only four pints, have her give two to Mikey and bring the other two back here.”

Cat nodded and stood. She gave Raph a quick peck and whispered something that made him smile before she left.

Attila rolled his head towards his Kitten. He’d watched the scene and saw the happiness in the other Cat’s eyes. How could he deny his Kitten the same? The once rebel commander leaned over him smiling. “You are awake.” He glanced back at Genghis’s counterpart and she frowned. “You saw?” He nodded and she shrugged. “It’s weird, right?” She was trying to sound nonchalant about it, but it came out forced.

She stroked his cheek and his hand came up to cover hers. And for a moment he remained indecisive. Then he pulled her hand away and squeezed it. His blue eyes shimmered. “No, my Kitten, it is truth.” She shook her head and started to protest. “No, it is time to face what is real. You love my brother.”

“No, I love you.” She said fiercely.

He shook his head just a little. “You care for me, that I know. We have been together a very long time. You know me as I know you, completely and thoroughly. We are comfortable with one another.” He reached up to trail his fingers along her cheek. “But it has not been true love for some time. We were companions, forged from tragedy. But that tragedy has passed. It is time for you to be happy.” His eyes fell on Raph. “And if you can give my brother half the happiness she gives him, then that is where you belong...with him.”

Tears fell from her green eyes. “No! Please, do not say such things!” She buried her face in his chest and he couldn’t resist wrapping her in his arms. He was not cold. He still loved her. They had been companions and confidants for many, many years. But there came a time when facts had to be faced. And the fact was her heart didn’t belong to him anymore. It hadn’t for a long time.

He shoved weakly at her shoulders and turned his head away. “Go.”

But she wouldn’t budge. “Please don’t send me away. He won’t accept me. I want to stay with you.”

He shoved again this time with a little more strength. “He will, because you are not mine.” There was a moan from Genghis’s cot and she shot a quick look his way. Attila shoved her hands away from him. “Go to him.”

Cat’s bottom jaw trembled and more tears slipped from her eyes. She didn’t respond as she at last stepped away, moving with slow deliberate steps to Genghis’s bedside. The others watched her with curiosity as she leaned over and stroked his cheek. “Genghis?”

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked at her. “Cathleen? What are you doing?” He turned his head and met his brother’s gaze. Attila gave a slight nod and turned away. He had released her, but Genghis couldn’t fight the guilt that twisted in his heart. He met her green eyes. “This is not right.” He said quietly.

She shook her head, responding in the same quiet voice. “He does not want me.” More tears slipped from her eyes. “Will you send me away as well?”

They held each other’s eyes for a long moment. “No.” He finally responded, his voice cracking a little. Her hand rested on his plastron and his came up to wrap around it. “Never.”

Raph watched the scene with a sort of out-of-body experience. This was them, he and Cat. He frowned to himself. They had already lost so much time, but then again they had so much to look forward to. And it was all thanks to Attila. He glanced at Mikey’s counterpart, realizing that it must have been a great sacrifice for him. Because he was alone now. Raph prayed that he would one day find the person who would truly love him as completely as Kala loved his brother.

Cat arrived a little later and Mikey’s stored blood was given to Attila. Not long after Napoleon woke and Donnie disconnected the transfusion kits from himself, Leo and Raph. The three mirror turtles sat on the sides of their cots, their significate others clinging to them with happy tears. Donnie settled down to work on the anti-mutagen and eventually found a protein compound that could break the invading cells down and flush them from their systems. He injected Attila with the serum. His vitals began to level out and soon after he was able to sit up on his own.

“Thank you for everything.” Rasputin shook Donnie’s hand. “You saved us. Again.”

Donnie smiled. “You would have done the same.”

Rasputin smiled as well. “Yes, I’m sure I would have.”

Nearby Napoleon shook Leo’s hand. “Thank you for your assistance. We will eternally be in your debt.”

Leo looked down at Amaya, who clung to the other turtle’s side. “Take care of her. Cherish every moment you have together. Because you never know when that moment might be your last. That is payment enough.”

Genghis eyed Cat as she slipped her arm through Raph’s and smiled at the couple across from her. He raised an eye ridge at his doppelganger. “She is yours?”

Raph nodded. “For more than twenty years.”

Genghis looked down at the mirror image of Cat in his arms. “We are only now starting our journey.”

Cat leaned on Raph’s arm. “It might be difficult at times, but believe me, it’s well worth it.”

Raph smirked, snaking his arm around her waist and lifting her chin. “Difficult? You’re the difficult one.”

She snorted as he turned them towards the door. “I am not!”

Genghis chuckled and smiled down at the woman who had once been his sworn enemy. Things changed and he was very glad they did.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

 Kaz kept one eye on the glowing portal and the other on his father, who was slowly regaining his color. The dialysis had taken a lot out of him, but the transfusion had helped. Mikey let out a small groan and Kala smiled, leaning over him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” He said softly, wiping the tears from her cheek.

K-three straightened from his position against the wall as the portal flickered. Beside the cot, Kaz’s hand went to the handle of kusarigama. A moment later they both relaxed as the remainder of their family emerged. Behind them portal closed, sealing off the other world. Kaz’s shoulders sagged and he turned back to the cot. “Everyone’s home now.” Mikey smiled at him, resting his hand over his son’s.

Donnie smiled a little as he approached them. “It’s good to see you awake, bro.” He showed him the syringe. “This will make you feel a whole lot better.”

Mikey’s smile broadened. “I knew you’d find a cure.”

Donnie gave a small chuckle. “Well, that makes at least one of us.”

Mikey sighed as the serum entered his bloodstream. The effect was almost instantaneous. He was able to breathe easier and the room stopped spinning. Leo moved around to squeeze his shoulder. “Rest easy, bro. Everything is alright now.”

Mikey opened his eyes and smiled at his older brother. “Thanks, bro.”

Leo put a hand on Kaz’s shoulder with a smile. “Actually, you have Kaz to thank. He saved your life.”

Mikey’s eyes glowed with pride as he looked at the young man his son had become. “You did?”

Kaz blushed a little and Kala smiled. She touched their son’s cheek. “Yes, he did.”

Leo turned away. “Come on, guys. Let’s let Mikey rest.”

Raph paused to smirk at his brother. “You better get well fast, ‘cause I need to knock some sense into that empty head of yours for always stuffing your face.”

Mikey just smiled. As the others left the room, Kala pecked him on the cheek again. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

When she was gone, Mikey looked at Kaz and the boy looked away. “What happened?”

Kaz shook his head, not meeting his eyes. “This guy got in here through the portal while you were sleeping.” He swallowed. “He was going to kill you. I fought him.”

Mikey pushed himself to a sitting position on the bedside. “And you won?”

Kaz finally lifted his head. “I nearly killed him.” He growled, clenching his fists. “I wanted to kill him.”

Mikey sighed, taking his shoulders and drawing him into a deep embrace. “You were scared and he was threatening your family.”

Kaz nodded against his shoulder. “I understand now, why we train so hard.”

Mikey pushed back to look him in the eyes. “Because if we didn’t, we would die and the ones we love would die.”

Kaz’s blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m glad you’re okay, Dad.” He hugged him again. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter is rated M/E for sexual content. It is not necessary to read in order to follow the series. Please use mature judgement.  
> Until next time stay cool my friends!


	8. Honeymoon Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated M/E for sexual content. It is not necessary to read in order to follow the series. Please use mature judgement.

K-three carried Mira in his arms up the staircase to one of the rooms. He nudged the door open with his foot, not breaking the kiss. He laid her on the bed and continued his ministrations. His hands came up to unclasped her belt and he sat back to slip the pink halter from her neck. He gently removed the satin mask and gazed at her, his golden eyes shimmering in the early morning light. She blushed. As ridiculous as it seemed she felt naked laying there bare of the few things she normally wore. “You are so beautiful.” He whispered, capturing her lips again.

K-three shivered as her small hands reached out to brush the vest from his powerful shoulders. He kicked off his boots and she whimpered when he pulled away to remove his pants. Mira stared in fascination as they fell in a heap at his ankles.

He was already exposed, his large thick tail hanging down between his knees and manhood at attention. She felt her body heat as he crawled onto the bed to lay beside her. “Shh...” He stroked her cheek and began the soft humming in his chest. “Relax.” She could feel her body do just that under the soft command. Her own tail slid from her shell unconsciously. She felt her blush increase. It was habit to keep the small slender appendage locked away. But she didn’t have time to contemplate this as her husband’s mouth burned a dizzying stream across her neck and shoulder. Her fingers sought out his shoulders, trying to draw him closer. When his tongue ran under the edge of her plastron, her whole body trembled.

His hand moved down to rest on her thigh, the quaking stopped and she arched into the touch. His hum was replaced with a low growl. It was not a threatening sound by any means, it was noise of approval. He moved until he was half covering her, his body hard against hers. Their plastron’s rubbed and Mira thought she saw stars. She’d never felt anything like it. It was so sensual and primal that she couldn’t suppress the moan that left her.

K-three was doing his best to go slow. She was young and inexperienced, tender and ripe. He knew she wanted him. Her scent told him that much. He slid his hand up her thigh, brushing her tail with his fingers. Her body jerked and her grip on his shoulders tightened. He could feel her inside him. She wasn’t frightened, she was aroused. This only caused his approving and possessive growl to increase. She shuddered as his fingers moved higher, pressing to find her opening.

Mira thrust her chin into the air. She had never felt this type of pleasure before. She felt herself tense involuntarily when he pushed one large finger inside. “Relax, my sweet.” He murmured against her throat, vibrating its way into her body. She did and gasped as second finger was introduced.

There was a slight flicker of pain and his hand stopped moving. She dipped her head, pressing her lips close to his ear. “More.”

He hesitantly moved, all the while searching the bond for discomfort or pain. A little more manipulation and he was sure she was ready for him. He moved back to her lips, drawing in her tongue. Slowly he moved to kneel between her legs, lowering his body to hover just above hers. She shivered as his tip entered her. Then there was pressure and a burning. He stilled, his mind a haze. Thousands of emotions were flooding into him. Pain, need, fear, trust, anxiety, arousal and a hundreds of others he could only guess at. The strongest of these was love. It burned through every cell in his body. Tears blurred his vision.

Beneath him, Mira used his shell to lift her hips, forcing him in. Her little nails dug into him as she cried his name. He lowered himself, shifting just a little until he was filling her completely. Her slender tall wrapped around his, locking the connection in place. He growled approvingly again and rocked them. Mira shuddered and shook beneath him, her fingers clawing at his shell and shoulders as she cried his name again and again. One last thrust, their bodies climaxing together. For a moment the world and stars exploded and then her name whispered like a sacred prayer. He collapsed atop her, his lips pressed to her neck and his tongue swiping at the sweat that beaded there. He rolled them, legs still entwined, tails still entwined, bodies still merged in blessed union. Her body now draped over his, not nearly big enough to cover him.

“The bond….I can feel you inside me, just as clear as I can myself.”

“Yes.” She murmured softly against his plastron. “We are complete now. Bond mates, now and forever.”


End file.
